By: Jack Ridenour

The first week of school was welcomed with the start of class and the beginning of the fall sports season. Teams have been back at school since August, preparing for the upcoming season. The women’s soccer team had a busy first week, winning three of their four games in eight days. Women’s volleyball had a packed schedule themselves, as they have played six games so far, winning four.
The women’s soccer team started the season with a home matchup against Case Western Reserve University. The Cougars got off to a hot start, as they jumped out ahead 1-0 from a goal by Victoria Vernail ‘20. The second half was controlled by the Spartans from Case Western, but the Cougars were unable to answer as they fell 2-1.
Their next game came a few days later, as they traveled to New Concord, OH to take on Muskingum University. The Cougars dominated against the Fighting Muskies, as they outshot them 29-4. Julie Bruening ‘19 and Megan Sieg ‘18 each had one goal apiece, as the Cougars came out on top 2-0.
In their next match, the Cougars were back in Pittsburgh to take on the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Bobcats. The first half was dominated by the Cougars, but they found themselves down 1-0 at halftime. The Cougars continued to dominate in the second half, scoring three goals. Chatham, won the match 3-1. It was their second win of the season.
Chatham’s latest matchup featured a home game against the Hilbert College Hawks. The Cougars jumped out to a quick lead as they scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Victoria Vernail ‘20 scored the first one, and soon after first-year Darby Robinson scored the second one. Megan Sieg ‘18 and junior Kassianna Politis ‘19 also each added a goal, as the Cougars came out on top at 4-0.
The women’s volleyball team also started their season off hot with a four-game winning streak. The Cougars traveled to Keuka Park, NY to participate in a two three game tournament. The team faced Hilbert College, Keuka College and D’youville College, sweeping the tournament to be named tournament champions. The team’s next three games were against University Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Westminster College, and Saint Vincent College. They beat Pitt-Greensburg in three straight sets, but lost two games to their conference rivals, Westminster and St. Vincent.
“Learning to communicate as a team since there’s new players in the line ups compared to last year.” said libero Sydney Stevens ‘20 on what has been the team’s biggest improvement. “We still need to work on this more but once we get this down, it will make us a very good team.” said Stevens.
The volleyball team takes on Geneva College and Oberlin College in a back to back home stand. The soccer team faces Medaille College and Franciscan University in the next few games. Both teams have the potential to have very dominate years in their conference as the season progresses.